Fuse housing



July 4, 1961 c GARMAN 2,990,777

FUSE HOUSING Filed Aug. 25, 1956 Kennel/z 6'. Garman I N V EN TOR.

.A'I TOR-IVE 2,990,777 FUSE HOUSING Kenneth C. Garman, Rochester, N.Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to United States of Americans represented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed Aug. 23, 1956, Ser. No. 605,909 2 Claims. (Cl. 102-70.2)

This invention relates to fuses and more particularly to an improved housing structure for a proximity fuse having an adjustable arming time.

With the development of a proximity type fuse having an adjustable arming time, it was necessary to provide a joint between the sleeve and insert of the housing which would permit the manual turning of one with respect to the other for adjusting the delayed arming time but which would not rotate with respect to each other during launching of the fuse equipped missile. Furthermore, the joint was required to be waterproof to prevent the introduction of moisture into the fuse components within the housing during storage or use of the fuse. The fuse housing of the present invention was developed to meet these special requirements and comprises broadly an insert, a front case mounted on one end of the insert and a sleeve rotatably mounted on the other end of the insert. A waterproof connection is provided between the sleeve and insert, and means is provided for engaging the fuse components within the housing by a pair of opposed shoulders formed on the sleeve and insert to prevent rotation of the components with respect to the housing during launching of the fuse equipped missile.

The primary object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a fuse housing for a proximity fuse having an adjustable delayed arming time and in which means is provided for preventing rotational movement of the fuse components with respect to the housing during launching of the missile.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fuse housing for a proximity fuse having an adjustable delayed arming time, comprising an insert, a hollow front case mounted on one end of the insert, and sleeve rotatably mounted on the other end of the insert and wherein means is provided for preventing rotational movement between the sleeve and insert, and between the fuse components and the fuse housing during launching of the missile.

Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description with reference to the drawing in which like characters denote like parts and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view partly in section illustrating the fuse components mounted within the fuse housing according to my invention; and

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view rotated 90 with respect to the illustration of FIGURE 1 and showing in detail the structure of the fuse housing permitting rotational movement between the insert and sleeve.

In FIG. 1, I have illustrated the fuse components assembled and positioned within the housing. The components comprise an oscillator section including the sending and receiving antenna 11, spiral form 13 within which is mounted the oscillator tube (not shown), and the spiral form base 15. Base 15 is positioned on the forward end of the shield can 17 which houses the circuit elements (not shown), which make up the amplifier section of the fuse. Immediately to the rear of the shield can 17 is positioned the reserve energizer 19 which supplies the electric power for the operation of the fuse. The switch ring and timing disc assembly 21 together with the clock mechanism 23 form the timing mechanism 25 of the fuse which is initiated by the inertia forces developed States Patent ice during launching of the missile. The timing mechanism 25 and the reserve energizer 19 are longitudinally held within the fuse housing by means of holding ring 27 which is threaded into the housing. The auxiliary detonating fuse 29 is held within the fuse housing by means of threaded retaining ring 31.

The fuse housing comprises three principal parts which are the front case 41, the insert 43, and the sleeve 45. Front case 41 is formed of a suitable plastic material and is molded over the serrated end of insert 43. Insert 43 and sleeve 45 have a common longitudinal bore 47 and are rotatably connected by a moisture proof swivel joint which is best illustrated in FIG. 2. A counterbore 49 is formed in the enlarged end of the sleeve 45 for receiving the reduced end 51 of insert 43 and annular groove 53 at the bottom of the counterbore 49 receives an annular gasket 55 preferably formed of neoprene and containing 4% parafiin, which forms a seal between the end of insert 43 and the sleeve 45 for making the joint water and moisture proof during storage and use of the proximity fuse. An annular shoulder 57 is provided adjacent the end of the insert 43 for engaging the flange 59 at the base of shield can 17. Shoulder 57 thus positions the oscillator and amplifier sections within the front case 41 and insert 43 of the fuse housing. The shield can 17 is held against rotation within the front case 41 and insert 43 by means of an interrupted circular stake 61 on steel insert 43 against the flange 59. In order to prevent the reserve energizer 19 from turning with respect to the insert 43 which would change the set delayed arming time of the fuse, the insert 43 and the flange 63 of the reserve energizer 19 are spot welded together at several points such as for example at 65. The switch ring part of the timing mechanism 25 is nonrotatably mounted on the end of reserve energizer 19 and the timing disc part (not shown) of the mechanism 25 is nonrotatably mounted on the end of clock mechanism 23. Clock mechanism 23 is provided with a keyway 67 for engagement with the embossed key 69 which extends into the bore 47 of the sleeve 45. The period of the delayed arming time is regulated by rotating the switch ring and the electric contacts (not shown) carried thereon with respect to the timing disc which is rotatably carried within the switch ring. The structure of the switch ring and timing disc assembly 21 does not form a part of the present invention and is fully disclosed in copending application Serial Number 602,476, filed on August 6, 1956, in the name of John C. Kopec and having the same assignee as in the present application. In order to rotate the reserve energizer 19 and the switch ring, a swivel connection is provided between the insert 43 and the sleeve 45. The swiveling action is accomplished by means of a split ring 71 which is contained in a groove 73 formed in the inner peripheral wall of the counterbore 49 and which is biased into engagement with the shoulder 75 formed in the end 51 of insert 43 by means of a series of set screws 77 which are threaded into the sleeve 45 and engage the periphery of the ring 71. While manual rotation of the insert 43 and hence the reserve energizer 19 and switch ring with respect to the sleeve 45 and the clock mechanism 23, is necessary and desirable for adjusting the period of the delayed arming time of the fuse, there must be no such rotation during launching of the missile. In order to prevent such rotation during launching, a washer 79 having a finely ground abrasive coated on the opposed surfaces thereof, is positioned between the flange 63 of reserve energizer 19 and the shoulder 81 formed at the bottom of the counterbore 49 in the sleeve 45. I have found that a washer cut from a sheet of garnet paper coated on both sides is very satisfactory for this use. During launching of the missile a relatively large inertia force is exerted between the flange 63 and shoulder 81 which with the increased coeflicient of friction obtained by the use of the garnet paper washer, is suflicient to resist the tendency of the sleeve 45 to rotate with respect to the insert 43, the reserve energizer 19, and switch ring during launching of the missile. To assist in the adjustment of the delayed arming time an indicia scale 83 is inscribed on the peripheral surface of sleeve 45 and a pointer 85 is inscribed on the opposite surface of the insert 43 as is best illustrated in FIG. 1.

It will now be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the fuse housing for a proximity fuse having an adjustable delayed arming time, incorporates according to my invention, means for preventing rotational movement of the fuse components with respect to the housing during launching of the missile. Furthermore, means has been provided to insure a water and moisture proof seal between the insert and the rotatably mounted sleeve of the housing.

While only one embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed, many modifications are possible and will be recognized by those skilled in the art from the foregoing which is intended to be illustrative only and the scope of the invention is defined in the appended claims.

Having now particularly described my invention what I desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States and what I claim is:

1. In a proximity fuse including an amplifier and oscillater section formed with an external annular flange adjacent one end thereof, and a reserve energizer having an external annular flange formed adjacent one end thereof, a fuse housing for receiving and retaining said section and said energizer in aligned abutting relation and comprising an insert member having a longitudinal throughbore for receiving said section, an internal shoulder formed in said throughbore adjacent one end of said insert member for abutting said flange on said section and thereby longitudinally positioning said section in said throughbore, an external annular shoulder on said insert member adjacent said one end thereof, a sleeve member having a longitudinal throughbore for receiving said reserve energizer and having an enlarged bell-shaped extension on one end thereof for receiving said one end of said insert member, an internal annular shoulder on said sleeve member adjacent said one end thereof for abutting said flange on said energizer and thereby longitudinally positioning said energizer in said throughbore of said sleeve member, ring means for rotatably mounting said one end of said insert member in said bell-shaped extension of said sleeve member with said internal shoulder of said insert member positioned in spaced opposed relation to said shoulder of said sleeve member, said ring means being carried by said bell-shaped extension and engaging said external annular shoulder on said insert member and thereby preventing longitudinal movement of said sleeve member with respect to said insert member but permitting rotational movement therebetween, means for rigidly securing said section and said reserve energizer against rotation with respect to said insert member, and friction means positioned between and in contact with said flange on said reserve energizer and said shoulder in said sleeve member for increasing the resistance to turning of said energizer in said sleeve member.

2. In a proximity fuse including an amplifier and oscillator section formed with an external annular flange adjacent one end thereof, and a reserve energizer having an external annular flange formed adjacent one end thereof, a fuse housing for receiving and retaining said section and said energizer in aligned abutting relation and comprising an insert provided with a longitudinal extending annular projection and having a longitudinal throughbore for receiving said section, an internal shoulder formed in said throughbore adjacent said projection for abutting said flange on said section and thereby longitudinally positioning said section in said throughbore, an external annular shoulder on said insert member adjacent said one end thereof, a sleeve member having an annular groove formed in one end thereof and having an enlarged bell-shaped extension on said one end thereof for receiving said one end of said insert member, said sleeve member having a longitudinal throughbore for receiving said reserve energizer, an internal annular shoulder on said sleeve member adjacent said annular groove for abutting said flange on said energizer and thereby longitudinally positioning said energizer in said throughbore of said sleeve member, ring means for rotatably mounting said one end of said insert member in said bell-shaped extension of said sleeve member with said internal shoulder of said insert member positioned in spaced opposed relation to said shoulder of said sleeve member and with said projection extending into said annular groove, said ring means being carried by said bell-shaped extension and engaging said external annular shoulder on said insert member and thereby preventing longitudinal movement of said sleeve member with respect to said insert member but permitting rotational movement therebetween, means adjacent said one end of said insert member for engaging and rigidly securing said section and said reserve energizer against rotation with respect to said insert member, a friction washer having a finely ground abrasive coated on the opposed faces thereof and positioned between and in contact with said flange on said reserve energizer and said shoulder member for increasing the resistance to turning of said energizer in said sleeve member, and an annular sealing means positioned in said annular groove in contact with said projection for providing a water and moisture tight rotatable connection between said sleeve member and said insert member.

OTHER REFERENCES Electronics, Proximity Fuzes for Artillery, Selvidge, February 1946, pages 104-109.

1,979,426 Nov. 6, 1934 

